Finding a Way to Live Happily Ever After
by Scygnus Darkhawk
Summary: Through all the Sorrow and Pain of life. A Negima fic set in a unique fantasy universe. Somewhat dark, but though the Way is long and tortourous, the destination is always in sight. Pairings are KonoSetsu and all other things are secret.
1. Prelude to Sorrow

Disclaimer: Just to make it perfectly clear, this fic will be someday, if not at the moment, rated R for violence, blood, general nastiness, possible swearing, and crude sexual jokes. It's not as bad as I'm making it sound, but there will be some pretty nasty stuff later on, so be warned, you of those who put breasts on gay men! note: Joke I don't expect anyone to catch 

**Chapter One: Prelude to Sorrow**

"Konoka-chan, this is Setsuna, she will one day be your greatest protector." Her father said, one hand reassuringly on her shoulder as she peers around him at the girl brought in by a generic-looking Shinmeiryuu swordsman. She wears a miniature, simpler version of the classic Shinmeiryuu garb, trainee's apparel probably, and her hair is tied up in the front on the left while the right hangs down. A miniature bokken hangs by her side cutely, though there are already sweat-stains and grip indentations on the hilt end.

"Now, I'll leave you two alone so you can get to know each other while I talk business with the deliverer." Her father said, taking his hand off of her shoulder and stepping to the side with the stern swordsman, leaving Konoka nibbling the side of her finger shyly while she watches the young swordswoman.

"I'm Konoka, what's your name?" She asks. The swordswoman, a bit startled by the question, answers without thinking.

"I am Setsuna." She answers stiffly, bowing. Konoka puts her hand down and fidgets for a second before stepping up and taking one of Setsuna's rough hands in both of her soft ones, bringing it up to hold between them.

"Will you be my friend, Secchan?" Konoka asks, her eyes pleading. The swordswoman listens to two separate voices argue in her head; on the one hand, her already too-mature swordswoman's instinct, on the other the voice of her own loneliness, sensing a kindred spirit. After a moment, the one that is far more powerful at this point in anyone's life wins the argument.

"Sure, we'll be friends, Kono-chan." She says, bringing her other hand up to the rest, smiling at her first friend and receiving one in return, both of them feeling the Hand of Fate resting in that moment, knowing in the way children do that somehow this meeting will change both their futures forever.

* * *

Setsuna whistled as she walked, glad she could take this journey alone for once, since her superior had no business there today and she had been judged Able to Handle Herself against most of the twisted beasts that roamed the area. For the past three years, she'd trained harder and faster than ever before, finally having some goal, some objective to move towards obtaining. She smiled as she thought of that goal, happy to find love in the world when she had never expected any, glad that she could see some expression other than contempt and hatred in another's face.

As she approached the town, she noticed it bustling a bit more than usual for it not being market day. When she reached it, she noticed that most of the bustle was old soldiers running about and vendors and shopkeepers talking to them as quickly as possible, giving them this or that. It looked like they were preparing for a journey to battle. But why only the old soldiers, and where was the battle to be joined? Everyone seemed too busy to speak, so she simply walked on, intending to get an answer from the lord or Konoka. She did notice that they were generally filtering their way to the castle with sizeable packs, presumably full of the appropriate supplies. The courtyard was a sharp contrast to outside, each soldier moving single file and quickly to sit in a platoon formation after talking briefly with the lord, who was fully decked out in his old armor with Yuunagi by his side. She approached slowly, hoping to catch the meaning of all this before interrupting him to ask.

"Secchan!" yelled a voice, and she turned her head to see Konoka making a beeline across the courtyard towards her. Only due to her unnatural strength (for her age, anyway) did Setsuna stay standing after receiving the tackle, instinct causing her to put her arms around her friend, holding her close, glad she did so as she felt the chest of her shirt get wet and heard her best friend's sobs.

"Setsuna," Her head whipped around to face the lord, Okashi, "Whatever orders you have or get, I want you to drop them for a while and stay here to protect Konoka while I'm gone. Someone snuck in last night and her mother is dead." He paused, his cold, angry visage nearly cracking, then began again, "That someone is dead. I know those responsible, and I am going to take care of them now. I'll be back in three days; most of the army remains here, since my task is simple, so you shouldn't have too much trouble, but…" His expression cracked again, "Konoka needs you right now, for many reasons. Do not leave her side until I return, understood?"

"I wouldn't dream of it sir." She replied, matching his cold expression. Their eyes met, and they understood one-another perfectly, then Okashi turned back to his men and began inspecting them to make sure none had forgotten anything. Setsuna stood for a moment more before reaching down and lifting Konoka up in her arms to carry her inside where they could speak in privacy.

* * *

A few months later, two girls sit by one of the koi ponds in the castle garden. Konoka has bits of leaves and sticks in her hair and some sticking to her kimono as well, and wears a pouty expression.

"You knew it was going to happen, Kono-chan." Setsuna comments smugly, watching the koi and grinning.

"Secchan! I thought you were on my side." Konoka turns the cute-anime-girl-sad effect up to full force as she looks over at her friend. Setsuna laughs, very carefully not looking in Konoka's direction.

"It's like I told them, I can't stop you from climbing trees, but I can be ready to catch you when you fall. I can't stop you from doing what you want, but I don't have to like watching you put yourself at risk." Setsuna explains. For a moment, there is silence, and she dares to look over at Konoka; she's gone from sad-faced to happy-to-tears. Setsuna braces herself, but isn't quite ready for the glomp and almost falls off the rock where she's sitting.

"You're so sweet, Secchan! I don't know what I'd do without you, stuck in this castle full of grumpy old men and primpy old ghouls!"

"Now now, Kono-chan, be polite. Their faces might fall off if they heard you say that, and then you'd have to clean it up." She smiled as she felt Konoka giggle at her jest.

"We'll be friends forever, right Secchan?" Konoka asks, hugging her tighter.

"Forever's a long time, Kono-chan, but as long as I breathe the air of this world, I'll always be by your side," Setsuna answered.

"I was going to suggest ice-cream, but you're putting my cavities ahead of schedule enough for one day." Konoka quipped, going into a little fit of giggles as Setsuna 'ack!'ed at the statement and almost dropped them both into the pond.

* * *

Setsuna entered the Audience Hall in a fresh Shinmeiryuu uniform, hers now, the only marring quality the bandage over her right eye, followed closely by the same superior that had brought her here the first time, his hair now beginning to turn grey. She stepped forward just far enough that her superior could stand clear of the door as it closed, then kneeled to the lord sitting at the other end of the hall, noting the large bandage on his right arm before standing and advancing forward to kneel a few feet away from the lord, head down in humility, noting the small but filled audience hall as she advanced. She heard the door to the lord's chambers slide open and almost twitched, knowing who was entering the room, but withheld herself, raising her eyes slowly when Konoka stopped in front of her. Her gasp was audible throughout the room as she saw Konoka, her breath taken away by the stunning sight before her. Konoka was usually beautiful, taking care with her outfit without going overboard, but today she was truly resplendent, wearing a dark green ceremonial kimono with sakura limbs twisting their way over it, the blossoms in various states of opening, a few butterflies and bees moving in on the few that had opened completely. Her hair had been partially tied up in the back, so that two streams of hair fell around her ears while the rest extended from the back of her head an inch or two before falling to midway down her back, the flowers on the tie crowning the top of her head. She wore no makeup, but needed none. Setsuna felt her heart beat rise and her cheeks flush.

"Rise, noble swordswoman, that you may hear the judgment of your fitness to protect my daughter." The lord intoned, not missing Setsuna's flustered expression as she stood. "You have comforted my daughter in her times of greatest need; you have shown your loyalty to her time and again, even against myself; you have proven yourself trustworthy through your actions; you have proven yourself stronger than any within this castle save for myself." He paused for a moment and shifted his bandaged arm, "And even then, your skill quickly approaches my own. If my daughter's life were in danger, would you put her above all other things, even to your own life?"

"Without hesitation."

"Will you consent to stand by her side for the rest of your days?"

"Without exception," The lord stands and looks over the crowd, gauging their reactions, from confused at her odd form of affirmation to nodding in approval at the finality of her word choice. The elder Shinmeiryuu appeared cold as stone to many an eye, but the lord notes the shock and rising anger in his eyes and resolves to have a talk with the man about it before he could cause any damage to what he was trying to do.

"Sakurazaki Setsuna, I proclaim that you are truly worthy to be my daughter's protector. Does anyone dispute my word?" He looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone in the silence before returning his gaze to the swordswoman before him, "Do you accept this burden until Death claims you?"

"Even he will have to face my sword before we are separated." The lord raises and eyebrow and turns his gaze to an empty corner at the back of the room. A second later, he chuckles.

"You may have just guaranteed yourself a longer life span." He comments in an amused tone.

"Eh?" Setsuna replies intelligently.

"Nothing, nothing, just the ramblings of an old man," he coughed, "You have been proven worthy before a varied audience of the lady's subjects, accepted the burden of protecting my daughter from any enemy, and I give you my acceptance to fill the role of her protector. Kneel, and swear your allegiance and everlasting loyalty." The lord stepped back and crossed his arms as Setsuna kneeled in front of Konoka, her eyes downcast.

"I have known for many years that this day would come, that I would be expected to pledge to you that I would put my life above yours. It is an obligation of honor. But I cast off that obligation, and pledge my sword, my life, and even my very soul to you for no other reason than that I wish to do so for my dearest friend, Kono-chan." If every eye wasn't on Setsuna before, they are now, and even Konoka raises an eyebrow, knowing that she's speaking far more dramatically than usual. The far-too-friendly method of speaking to her raises some eyebrows as well, though the lord just smiles, "Will you accept my humble service, ojou-sama?" she finally asks.

"Um… er… yes?" Konoka stammers, a bit flustered at the attention suddenly being turned to her; there is a moment of expectant silence before the lord steps forward again.

"To aid you in your mission, I give you Yuunagi, the blade gifted to me by the leader of your clan when I wasn't much older than you are now. Its blade will never dull in your hands, and your strikes will always be true." Setsuna held up her hands to accept the blade, which the lord set into her outstretched palms. She untied her trainee's sword and handed it back to her superior before retying on the new sword, wanting to test its feel, but not daring to draw it during the ceremony.

"Now stand, and begin your duty." Setsuna begins to stand, but stumbles a bit, and is quickly caught by Konoka.

"Gomen nasai, ojou-sama, the doctor's medicine doesn't like it when I stand too quickly." Setsuna explained as she got her own feet beneath her, making Konoka giggle. The lord stood behind them and put a hand on each of their shoulders as they stood facing the crowd.

"You know, with all those years of you being here, it's like I had two daughters… except you aren't quite as spoiled rotten as you might have been, like Konoka is." The lord said with a smile.

"Daaaad…" Konoka says, in a 'please don't embarrass me like that' tone.

"Sir, I must object to your insinuations as to ojou-sama's freshness." Setsuna followed up in a mock-'do you want me to get serious?' tone. The lord just laughed.

"And if I had a daughter with more of me in her blood, she'd be just like that too, wouldn't she?" Setsuna matched Konoka's blush and various 'hai!'s were heard from the chuckling onlookers. "In any case, this calls for a party! And we seem to have an abundance of food and drink that seems made especially for it, don't we, oh Master of the Kitchen?"

"Don't act all innocent like that, Okashi. I swear, you'll use any excuse…" The elderly cook answered, brandishing her large wooden spoon and speaking with a slight foreign accent, "But yes, it's ready and everyone will be in place to serve before the first guest can make it to the courtyard." Several men and women in aprons begin filing out the door, apparently having finished the meal in time to watch the ceremony, quickly followed by the portly older cook.

"Eheh… well, everybody, I've got a few toasts in mind tonight, but don't wait up for me. They should be set up in the courtyard; get your grub and find a seat." Everyone began filing out, the burble of conversation beginning. "You two get the places of honor, tonight," Okashi said, pushing them forward a bit, "I just saw an old friend I'd like to catch up with, so go on. And your plates will be brought to you; the cook decided to fix your favorites tonight." So said, he turned back to the empty corner of the room, walking that way. Setsuna and Konoka looked at him curiously before he said, in a dangerous tone, "Trust me, you don't want to listen in on this conversation." They both gulped at the tone and left quickly.

"So, Death-sama, what brings you here tonight? Nobody I know is it?" he asked to the apparently empty corner of the now empty room.

"Just heard my name from an old acquaintance and decided to catch up with him. I'm glad I did, those two may just prove to have a very interesting future." Replied what looked to be an amber-eyed youth, visible to few eyes, standing in the corner.

"They can handle it, I'm sure." Okashi said, smiling smugly, "So, what adventures have you seen in the past twenty years?"

* * *

"Your father will use any excuse, won't he?" Setsuna asked, fiddling with her food a little.

"For the past thirteen years, as well as I can remember, Oka-san's thrown at least one party every week." Konoka smiles, "It's never really boring, at least."

"All right girls, you can quit talking about me now. And don't call me that."

"As though your presence would actually stop me from asking about the rest of your bad habits, Oka-san?" Setsuna smirked as she leaned aside to allow leeway for his bandaged arm as he sat, "I am officially living here now, so I think I have a right to know."

"What have you been telling this girl, Konoka?" he said, giving his daughter the evil eye, then moving on before she had a chance to answer, "Waaah! My baby girl is spreading lies about me to her friends!"

"Those crocodile tears aren't fooling anyone dad." Konoka replied after a second, grinning.

"No respect, even from my own daughter…" he mutters.

"I got it from you, didn't I?" She quipped back.

"Eherm, yes well, I promised the guests a few toasts, didn't I?" he quickly attempted to change the subject, standing and raising a freshly filled goblet of the incredibly bad-tasting ale he preferred, "A toast!" He yelled over the assorted chatter, silencing it and signaling the raising of goblets, filled with everything from white wine to bad ale. Setsuna had a small cup of strong sake on suggestion from her mentors; to strengthen her liver while it was still developing so she wouldn't fall to any number of state dinners where the drinks would not be optional without rudeness, and also to raise her tolerance level high enough that she wouldn't be slowed too much by any alcohol intake. Konoka, not having much of a tolerance to start with, was still working up past white wine so she could survive those same state dinners, though it wasn't so much of a worry since she could play the sweet and air headed girl like no other and asking for something weaker wouldn't be seen as rude if she really could claim a weak constitution.

"A toast to my beautiful daughter, may she one day be as beautiful and as sweet as her dear departed mother." The mood was suddenly somber as everyone made the toast silently, "And of course, marry a man as courageous and dashing!" He continued with a grin, immediately lightening the mood.

"I think you're a few toasts ahead of us, Oka-san." Setsuna commented loudly, making everyone snicker.

"And of course…" He continued without missing a beat, "her rather cute protector, may she one day be able to make even me cry for mercy at her hands." There were a few chuckles as everyone joined the toast, making Setsuna blush a bit, "And I just hope she doesn't scare all those poor boys away." A few more chuckles as he bent a bit in a failed attempt to avoid a pointed strike from his daughter, "Does anyone else have a toast they want to make?"

"To this crazy old man, may he outlive us all!" Setsuna yelled out in a barroom voice, tossing back the last bit of her cup as everyone else followed suit. One of the younger well-offs stood as soon as everyone had made the toast.

"To good wine, bad ale and strong sake! I think everyone can toast to that!" He was apparently drinking something strong because he swayed as he stood and almost missed his mouth for his own toast. After that, everyone seemed to settle into their meal and conversation, or in Konoka and Setsuna's case, into eating and ribbing Okashi some more.

"You girls are so cruel." He cried.

"It's okay daddy, we still love you." Konoka said, patting his shoulder, "But it'll be one on one from now on. I think I've had enough to drink and I think I'm going to retire for the night. Just come in quietly later, Secchan." Setsuna watched her go wistfully, giggling a bit as she attempted to walk in through the window before realizing that she'd missed the door by a few feet.

"You girls will be the death of me yet…" Okashi complained with a bit of amusement in his voice, "But I wouldn't trade you for anything…" he finished with a sigh. Setsuna remained quiet, unsure of what to say, "Did you know her mother?"

"No, sir," She answered quietly, knowing it was a sore subject, "I never had the pleasure of speaking with her."

"Cut out the sir stuff, you might as well be part of the family now. That's right, you only came two or three times before her death, and we were busy handling taxes and rebuilding and people that thought we were vulnerable because of the overthrow." He took a long draught, grimacing at the taste and refilling his pint, "She was the sweetest woman I'd ever met… and beautiful beyond compare. She could and would forgive anything… including her own murder…" Setsuna thought, at that point, that she'd never seen him this sauced before, "I know you've sworn and you're ready and all that, but I want you to personally promise me one thing…"

"What is it?" She asked as he paused.

"Promise me… promise me…" He stumbled, obviously on his last legs of sobriety, "Promise me that you'll never leave her side…"

"Okashi, Sir," Setsuna smiled, "I promise you that I will never leave her side, just as I promised her the same, a few months after it happened."

"Thash good… thank you, Secchan…" There was a 'fwump' sound as he struck the wooden table and began snoring. She smiled again and patted him on the back, removing the mug from his hand and signaling one of the cook's assistants to find someone to carry him to his room. She herself began to head for Konoka's room, but was grabbed roughly as soon as she got to a point inside out of sight of the courtyard and dragged quickly into an empty room. She turned to face her attacker, Yuunagi coming halfway out of its sheath before she recognized her superior that had disappeared as soon as the ceremony was over.

"Setsuna, what in the nine hells are you doing?" He asked angrily, not removing his hand from her uniform and shaking it a bit for emphasis.

"What do you mean, sir?" She asked, sobering immediately and wiping her face of all emotion.

"You don't even know what you're doing? What is your mission?"

"To protect the young Lady and send information about the state of things back to headquarters." She answered, curious as to what she had done wrong. The first message wasn't for a month.

"Yes, to protect the young Lady, not to like her, not to have her like you, not to have her father like you. She's starting to like you too much; do you realize what that could mean politically? She'd be out of the running for arranged marriages. What happens if that has to be used to stop a war? No one wants a heartbroken lesbian for a wife. And you are to send information back to us, everything you learn, do you know what that means? You are a spy. If they find out you are sending back anything but the day-to-day goings on, you'll be on the gallows before you can blink. On top of all of that, you're a half-demon. The lord is known to have killed over a hundred notably strong demons; if they find out, they will hate you and you'll be dead within the week, whether from his sword or some other. Do you understand your situation here?" Setsuna nodded, her face gone from blank from will to blank from shock.

"Then I expect you to fix your mistakes. It doesn't matter to me if you do so or not; it is your grave you dig, but try to run back to us and we will cut you down as soon as you get within range of our swords. Do not make us have to try and replace you." So said, he disappeared out the door, gone. Setsuna fell to her knees, tears running down her face as she discovered her own emotions, her own feelings. She had to push them away, but she would not let them go, could not deny her feelings. She had known that this would be the best day of her life, but had no idea why she thought so.

Now she knew, but that feeling was gone when she realized that this would be the last happy day of her entire life.

End Chapter 1 

**And the Sorrow Begins...**

AN: The first chapter is finished, and boy have I got a wild ride for you. If... no WHEN, WHEN I finish this fic, I believe it will be my defining work among fanfics...

Started out pretty light this chapter, didn't it? But it got dark near the end, and that sets the mood for most of the story... okay, the oddball changes and insertions I made... Okashi, the dad. Well, at first, I was going to use Konoka's original father and have him kinda bland and in the background, since we don't really know all that much of his character from the real story. Then I wrote the ceremony scene and realized that it was way way too much. So I deleted it and started over, and as I was writing it the second time, those wisecracks from him just sorta came out and he developed his own character, even if it is sort of a 'stock' personality. His name, Okashi, was derived from the 'Headmaster' of the Negima boards I had just discovered, who had 'Okashira' in front of all his screen names. I originally used 'Okashira' as his name, but then I got around to reading Rorouni Kenshin and found out the origin and decided to shorten it to 'Okashi' so I could still use the 'Oka-san' pun.(just in case anyone is new to fics or whatever, Okaasan is how you say 'mother' in japanese.)

Death-sama just sort of popped into my head to use after Setsuna's statement about beating him away was written. He originates from a book/series(it was once two books but I got it after it had been compiled into one) called 'Wizard of the Grove' and the reason Okashi can see him while no one else can is because he's been dead before... well, his heart wasn't pumping for about five seconds anyway, but it was close enough that he can see Death-sama as long as Death-sama wants him to. Death-sama may appear later on, but not everything has been laid out perfectly just yet, so it's unsure. 

Well, I'm sure you're tired of me rambling by now, so I'll shut up and get to working on Chapter 3. Yes, I said Chapter 3. Chapter 2 is done already, but I'll be waiting a few days to post it, so that I can get a response to Chapter 1 from everyone who's expecting it before I piss them all off with Chapter 2. Yep, what's going to begin in Chapter 2 is a biiiig suprise. It'll be pleasant for some, I'm sure, but the Kono-Setsu freaks(you know who you are, yeah, I'm talking to you) might be mad. 


	2. Prelude to Pain

**Chapter Two: Prelude to Pain**

She remembered fire and blood. And eyes colder than ice that suddenly became blank. Then nothing. When she woke, she had no memories of what had happened but those single images; the only images that she would ever remember seeing. Something that she did not understand had happened, and she had woken up blind... yet seeing far more than she should be. Nodoka had become a Seer overnight. She didn't understand what went on after she awoke, only that there were people in the room speaking of her without speaking to her, as though she were an animal. They put off a cold green aura to her Sight and it scared her. She was given food and water and told to eat and drink. She did, but it was tasteless in her mouth.

The next day came and another person entered the room. His aura was different, bright red bruised with black, and she felt like it shone intense heat onto her face. He told her to follow, that she would live with him from then until both his and her punishment was over. He scared her more than the cold greens, but she knew nothing, so followed. He took her to a house just a few minutes walk out of town that seemed to radiate mental strength, a castle really, abandoned sometime in a previous age. Indeed, three ages ago exactly; she could see the final battle between the slightly more civilized occupants and the barbarian hordes that had long since taken up permanent residence in the north, could see the blood and the death as every man in the castle was killed and every woman and child taken into the tribe. It was a terrible sight, but once the battle was over, she saw the peace as it returned to nature, the halls and walls becoming overgrown as the forest moved in, birds nesting here and there and a wolf and her cubs using one of the rooms that was still intact like a cave.

"Yes, yes, this place has a long history that I'm sure you can see but I'm also sure you can take the time to look later, serving girl." The old seer said as he jerked her out of her vision and inside the hall, cleaned of vegetation and set with torches that lit as they walked past and went out behind. Their first stop was the kitchen.

"Here, beginning tomorrow, I will teach you how to cook what I like to eat, until you know enough that you can cook my meals. When we need more food, you will be sent to the market with enough gold to buy my regular stock, which you will have a list of, and enough gold extra to buy enough food for you to eat healthily on, if you have the brains to spend it wisely. While learning, you will eat the same thing I do, but after, you may cook whatever you want to eat, provided it does not make my own meal late. And don't whine if you run out of your own food before market day comes again; you will go hungry if that happens. I won't let you starve, but the only food I can conjure is dry oat biscuits, which taste so nasty you may want to go hunt rats first. Also, within one hour of my meal, I want every dish in this kitchen spotless. If any of them break without very good cause, such as a demon popping out of thin air and attacking you while washing or carrying, it comes out of your food money gradually. Understood?" She nodded, her bangs already half-covering her shy eyes that now stared blankly towards his voice. "On second thought, you won't handle breakable dishes until you've learned to See enough that you don't trip on your own two feet." So stated, he led her out of the kitchen. They traveled down another hallway, past several branches, to another room, filled with books.

"This is the study. You will be given a duster and expected to keep it free of dust. If I check any spot for dust one day and find it still dusty on the next, you will be punished. You will be allowed to read, since your learning must keep near the level of the average seer trainee, but do not believe everything the books in this room say. They are all state approved, which means several of them are pure drivel. You will be shown my real library later, and in those books you can trust everything to be either accurate or obvious fiction. Never speak of my real library, and never speak what you have heard me say about the books in this room. I know no one is listening now, but after the mess your parents got me into, they'll be checking on me often, and if they hear any hint as to who I really am from you, I promise you that you'll wish they'd thrown you into a pit of needles and left you to die slowly. Understood?" She nodded again, cringing a bit from his gaze that she could not see. They moved on again, only one hallway this time, and short to a closed door.

"This is my bedroom door, you are never to enter here, and do not need to; it is kept clean by magic. If I am there and there is a dire emergency... and it had better be very dire, such as the demon example from earlier... knock and wait for me to come to the door. It will always be locked, and only I can open it, but any ideas you might have about slipping in, get rid of them now. The threat I gave you a moment ago stands for this as well. Understood?" She nodded once again, gulping and keeping her eyes lowered from his natural glare. He jerked her along again, towards the front of the house, and took her out on the front step.

"You will clean this front entrance once a day. I do not expect it to be as clean as my study, this is outside after all, but I expect it to at least look presentable at all times, storms notwithstanding. Understood?" She nodded once again, head still hung low, "Then it's time for dinner. I will show you how to cook the first meal, and in proper proportions, as well as a half-portion for yourself. Because you have arrived unexpectedly, tomorrow is market day. I will take you and show you where to get my regular supply, as well as how to get the best there is to offer."

* * *

Nodoka lied in her bed, a lumpy mattress in a small, dark, stale room a few down from the Master's, thinking about what she had to do. The room was completely dark, though she was barely aware of it. On her chest lay a book, 'Enlightener's Essentials' it was called; a basic overview of every known technique available within the scope of a seer's abilities. Her Master had handed her the book as he showed her to her bedroom, her clothes from wherever she had been before already stacked on a chair, and had told her that she had to learn at least half of chapter one within the month, that he would answer her questions during his mealtimes and just after, when he smoked his pipe, if she had trouble learning the information and techniques herself. But before she could read the book, she had to learn to See it, to extend her sight beyond her body into the present so she could see her surroundings and read the words printed on the page, invisible to her blind eyes. He had informed her of this, and also that it was the first and simplest technique in the book, so that she would be killing one and a quarter birds with one stone, leaving three more simple techniques to learn before the month's end. 

She sat up and held the book in her hands, opening it to the first page and pondering how to go about Seeing the Present. After a few moments, a simple idea comes into her mind, and she executes it quickly. With her imagination, she paints a picture of a floating eye inside of her mind, and then slowly draws it out. She felt a small pull and then it was out. She imagined it opening, and Saw... something; Black with the slightest hint of grey. She realized that she was in a dark room, and tweaked something within the eye. In an instant, her Vision flared into existence, the room appearing in outline within her mind, as well as herself, as the eye was looking back at her. She was shocked at first, but quickly pointed the eye down to the book she held, and was happy to be able to read the words... mostly. She flipped back and forth happily all night long once she discovered a glossary of terms in the back, reading long into the night...

* * *

"Up, girl, it's morning and my breakfast should have been ready three minutes ago. I'll excuse it today as you probably haven't learned the alarm technique yet, but by tomorrow I want my breakfast ready promptly at seven AM. Understood?" Nodoka blinked uselessly as she woke up, the book in her lap sliding off, its back cover facing upward. 

"Y-yes sir." She stammered, clambering out of bed wearing the same clothes as she had for the past three days and stumbling a moment before she walked towards the kitchen, her Master in tow.

"You have mastered the technique of Seeing the Present already, I see." He noted as she carefully stepped over a rat carcass.

"Yes, sir," she answered timidly, not slowing.

"Good, you can wash the dishes when we're done then." He replied, "Hurry now, and make sure you get this hall clean as soon as we get back from the market. Don't want the place getting infected with insects."

"Yes sir." She repeated, the litany already familiar.

* * *

"And that's how to check an apple for bruises. Lightly bruised apples are fine, but choose carefully otherwise. Understood?" He didn't even wait for her answer this time, "You need to collect five of them each time you come to the market. This time we'll grab two extras for you." She quickly picked out the seven best apples on the stack and put them into the large bag he had given her. 

"Now, meat, the butcher's shop is right this way. Come along." He didn't bother to drag her along any more, so they quickly made their way into the butcher's. "You don't need to worry about quality or quantity here; the butcher is well aware of my needs each week."

"Good morning, Mr. Whatsisname!" The portly butcher walked out from the back, a cleaver and a haunch in hand, "I heard about your little predicament and your new permanent house guest; an extra pound for the lady?"

"Yes, Mr. Finn. After today, she'll be picking up my food supplies, as well as her own. Just give her what you'd usually give me, and whatever she requests otherwise. And don't think you can stiff me on the good parts because I'm not watching you. I'll know."

"Only a fool would stiff a seer who isn't a stiff sir." The butcher replied, measuring his first cut and smiling. The old man glared at him. Nodoka tried not to smile.

* * *

"You are never to speak of what you see, hear, and read here. As you've probably figured out, I'll know if you betray me, no matter how safe you think you are from my wrath." He told her harshly, his lips pulled back in a threatening snarl. 

"Yes sir, I understand." Nodoka said, her voice betraying her anticipation.

"Very well. Do not watch as I open it." He turned around towards the solid iron door that could very well lead to a pantry (and did, she knew, if you used the regular doorknob.) and muttered a bit before she heard the sound of metal sliding across metal and something else she could not identify. There was also a very strange smell that she could not place, but she knew she had smelled it before. Then the door slid open smoothly, unlike the rusty clanking it made when usually opened, and she sent her Seeing Eye forward quickly, unable to wait any longer to see the treasure trove ahead, only to be brought up short as her mind was shocked hard, the bolt of mental energy easily traveling back to her through her Eye.

"There's your first lesson about this place; never try to See within it from the outside. The reason should be obvious right now, and the reason why shouldn't be too hard to figure out either." Nodoka stood up, not realizing she had fallen in the first place until after the fact. "Now come along, I haven't got all day." He stepped through the door, and it began to quickly close behind him so that Nodoka barely made it through.

"This is my library, behold in wonder!" He said, gesturing widely at the shelves and shelves of books stretching up past where even her eye could see, and with the happiest voice she'd ever heard from him (not that that was saying much...). She did indeed gaze in awe, her Eye jumping from shelf to shelf, scanning each title quickly and marveling at the sheer number.

"All right, enough of that. I prefer to study in a more comfortable setting. I'd suggest you reel in your eye before I collapse the room." He waited for perhaps a second and a half before he snapped his fingers and the walls came together swiftly and seamlessly, forming a room that looked much like his study upstairs, only twice the size and considerably more... plush, she thought, what with the silk couches and cushions strewn about on a very fine fluffy carpet. The perfect place to relax with a good book, one might think. She did notice the lack of so many books, however; now, the walls were formed of bookshelves and stopped at the ceiling, but there were so few on the walls now and all curiously had titles that started with the letter A.

"For ease of reference, I've organized it a bit. While we're in here, you may use the wall left of the door. I believe you should study these books so that you perhaps might be able to keep up with your studies." He stepped over to the left wall and placed a hand near the shelf, "Seers and Seeing, commence search." The wall began shifting as soon as he was done speaking, sliding down and across until it stopped, the center of the shelf with a marker: 'Seers and Seeing, section one of five.' "Find whatever book you need this way. The system is well made enough that you can call up just about anything, alphabetically, by author, by title, by subject, etcetera. If you can't seem to find something, ask me. I do occasionally find bugs in the system, so it will not offend me if you discover them instead. Now, I have work to do, read whatever you wish." He stepped off to the other wall and murmured something so that the shelves shifted until his hand rested over a particular book, which he withdrew and then dropped onto a couch and began reading.

Nodoka looked at the titles curiously, wondering what she should read first. She withdrew a title at random and opened up the book: 'Dream Walking and Soul Searching: a compilation of traditional symbology.' A reference book to what various events and pictures one might see in a Dream Walk or when looking directly into someone's soul could mean... though it warned that the symbols were all in the target's mind, and so could mean anything. But it gave the classical representations that were usually ingrained into a person's mind and was therefore likely accurate for most stable minds that had grown up within current human society. While interesting, it was like reading a dictionary; you would more likely flip through searching for specific symbols after you had seen them, rather than recalling them during the Seeing. She replaced the book, and, on a hunch, placed her hand inches from the wall.

"Dream Walking and Soul Searching: the basics." She murmured; the wall shifted a few rows down and to the right so that her hand was resting over a book with the title she had called, the shelf around it lined with other books that seemed to be beginner level books on subjects dealing with Seeing Within. She withdrew the book in front of her hand, thinking that it was as good a place to begin as any, seeing how she had already finished reading the basics book, and what it mentioned of this particular subject made it sound very interesting.

* * *

Nine years later, Nodoka stood at the sink, washing dishes, her expression blank, eyes lowered so that they could hardly be seen beneath her bangs. Her movements were robotic, familiar from nine years of repetitions. One might think her life terrible, slaving away day after day for an old man that would just a well spit on her as look at her, but to her, those few hours in the library each day were worth it. Access to thousands and thousands of books, each just waiting for her to read them... she'd once asked if he had all the books in the world there, or copies of them, and he'd only said that he was working on it. 

The monthly tests came and went easily; she was told by the old man to get at least half the questions right, and each time she got exactly half the questions right. She had heard the words 'a bit below average' many times, and because she had nothing to base her learning speed off of but her master, who gave no hint to reveal his skill on any level, she assumed that they were right. That was just fine with her; all she wanted from life was a little seer shop of her own, and maybe to inherit her master's library when he passed away, as well as the knowledge of how to manage it. She never smiled because every time she did, her master would notice and ask what she was so happy about, then say he didn't care and tell her to go sweep the front step.

Her train of thought was interrupted as she sensed something in the air behind her and spun around, ready to flee as soon as she could tell what it was she had sensed. The premonition gave her exactly five seconds before it actually happened: the center of the kitchen seemed to erupt in a spray of blood, and when it settled, the only part of the kitchen not speckled was her master, standing clean in the center of the eruption, breathing heavily with a bloody stiletto dagger in one hand and a few books under the other arm. He mumbled something and the books seemed to disappear for a moment, and then reappear under his arm again.

"Girl, come here." By now, Nodoka was shaking like a leaf, her mind refusing to believe the truth, but her automatic reaction took over and she walked hurriedly to her master. "I've been found out. You don't know anything of it, and if they ask, I appeared here and then ran out the door immediately. I'm going to lay a defense on your mind so they cannot read you, and it should be passed off as total mind-shock. Hold out your hand, quickly now!" She did so, though her entire arm shook. "Someone will come and they will take you away from the government dogs, and they will bring you to my library here, so that they can move it to my new location." He grabbed her wrist and held her hand steady, "You will have to be the one to open it for them, and for that, you'll need this." He twisted his free hand around in midair and an object appeared there. It looked like a brand, but instead of the symbol being made with wide lines, they were thin, and looked sharp. It was the Seer's Eye emblem with a single tear falling from the center.

Before she could think any further, he sunk the blade brand into her held right palm, forcing it all the way to the bone in one stroke. 'Ouch' just doesn't quite cut it. Her breath caught in her throat and she screamed silently, eyes wide as she felt the warm blood run down her arm, hardly visible on top of the cooled blood, and her panic doubled as she felt the brand burn itself into her mind, forcing past her defenses and searing her thoughts. In her pain, her mind uncontrolled, her abilities moved on their own, showing her the past of the object which had pierced her skin and her mind: the pact, the price, the pain. She knew it all, and she was afraid. The brand was removed, and she was tossed back into the corner, quivering, her expression blank, subconsciously knowing that the wound would heal in an instant with no mark, but also knowing that the wound in her mind would not go away, ever.

She didn't know when her master left, but within seconds after the branding had been done, he was gone, and she was alone.

End Chapter 2

**And so the Pain Begins...**

AN: First off, props to Mookie, the author/artist of the popular webcomic 'Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire' who taught me that Seers are cool. Second, very sorry to anyone who was expecting the suprise to be pleasant... I lied It was very hard to not give anything away in this chapter... on the Kono/Setsu side of this story, there aren't really any secrets to start out with, but the Nodoka?(heheh, there's one secret) side already has a whole plethora. And just so you know, this side of the story won't get anywhere NEAR as lighthearted as the other until after Ending #1. Not that the other will be all that lighthearted, but 'Sorrow' is just so much cleaner than 'Pain', if you catch my meaning.

This may have been apparent, and it'll be somewhat outlined in Chapter 3 or 4, but for the non-observant who might be confused, the government here is run by 'The Enlightened Ones'... Seers that think that because they can see more than the average person, they should be the ones to run everything. It probably started out very prosperously, but over time it turned into a totalitarian government, with an emphasis on extreme information restriction. Ah yes, and here I introduce the concept of the 'blood mage' into this story. Some of you might already know what that is, but for others, it will be explained in good time, as well as why it's so prominent in this little world. Oh, and before ANYBODY asks, complains or otherwise, I'm making up this world as I go, so it's kind of a meshing of whatever I can think of. There'll be more on this in the next chapter, especially since I need to stop rambling in this one.

Also, before I forget, special thanks to Oka-san for prereading chapters 2 and 3. I wasn't too sure I'd done good with them, and he reassured me.


	3. Setting Out

**Chapter 3: Setting Out**

**Part 1: Two Ducks and a Lemon** (not that kind you perverts!) 

Two years have passed... 

Setsuna walks silently beside the carriage where Konoka sits, vigilantly watching the forest around for any sign of attack, but... no matter how hard she concentrates, her mind keeps trying to go back to last night...

* * *

"Dear..." Okashi sighed, "I know that I told you I wouldn't do this to you... that the very thought appalled me, but..."

"I understand, Otousama..." Konoka sighed herself, "The way things are going, it's the only way to stop a war from erupting... with anyone else, it would be nothing but a rout, but they are as strong as we, so the war would be long and too many lives would be shed..."

"I'm... sorry..." Was all he could reply; he noted that behind his daughter, her protector stood as still as stone, one hand on her blade, face a cold mask that revealed nothing, eyes subtly avoiding every chance to meet them so that they could not reveal her emotions. Two years ago, after the ceremony, that mask had dropped into place without a single clue as to why. He suspected it had something to do with his Shinmeiryuu liaison, which had disappeared that night and not come back, but with no idea what had happened, he couldn't figure out how to approach Setsuna to draw her out of her personal fortress of ice. Careful questions were rebuffed without effort, and her eyes were careful never to meet his and reveal her emotions.

He knew this was hurting Konoka; she had begun acting like she had after her mother's death once she had failed to bring Setsuna back in the first six months. She ate little, spoke in a voice more suitable for a frightened animal, and sat in her room crying when she thought no one would know. Setsuna seemed oblivious, though after this became obvious her body language became silent, controlled to give away nothing. He knew she was shutting herself off from her charge, but couldn't in the least fathom why. It was beginning to piss him off.

"Setsuna," He started after a few moments of silence, his voice cold, "I've sent out for a few extra bodyguards. They'll be in the courtyard this afternoon; pick as many as you think you might need for this trip and as many of my men as you think will be needed. You'll leave tomorrow morning." As his eyes left Setsuna and returned to his daughter, they softened with sorrow and asked for forgiveness, and it was given in an instant. Setsuna nodded and turned around to follow Konoka out of the room.

* * *

Every time Setsuna thought her heart was so shredded that nothing could tear it more, something happened that ripped off another slice. Konoka was getting married tomorrow... to a man... no, a _boy_ neither of them had ever met. It was unavoidable, and she hated it. Her eyes were ice, her body stone, but she could not keep herself in the dark about her feelings for her princess...

_Not_ my _princess..._ she shook her head, trying to correct her misthought, _it is her duty to the people, and she must fulfill it, however much neither of us like it..._ she sighed silently, her mind turning back to the events later that day, which were more confusing by the hour.

* * *

Setsuna stared... or glared, more like it, at the line of mercenary swordsmen and women. About half were old and battle-scarred, and the other half looked young but somewhat experienced. Then her gaze fell on two that looked completely and totally green; excellent for a demonstration of authority to keep whoever she selected in line.

"Hello, and what might your name be," She asked the one that was more strangely dressed, wearing what looked like a short sleeved shirt with bobbed shoulders and an intricate pattern on the chest that crossed down onto her stomach and presumably onto her back, as well as a pair of loose trousers made of some flimsy material that looked like they were more suited to sleep in. And her hair was blonde and made to stick up off of her head somehow.

"Kuu Fei, at your service!" She spoke in an extremely cheerful manner, and bowed, "This here's my partner in crime!" She jerked a thumb at the pink-haired girl beside her, who was dressed like a carriage driver, in plain brown with a flat hat and a whip at her side.

"Makie, pleased to meet you." She was a bit more sedate, but only a bit. She bowed as well, but more respectfully and less bouncy.

"Well, Kuu Fei, Makie, where are your weapons? Leave them at home?" She raised an eyebrow and gave them a sneering eye. For some reason, they looked at each-other and giggled. _Giggling mercenaries? Now there's a concept..._ Setsuna thought, wondering what was funny.

"We got our weapons with us, but if you really wanna see them, you hafta attack us." Kuu Fei explained.

"Oh?" Setsuna said with a note of sarcasm, "Wait here a moment," she said back at them as she turned and stepped over to the nearby training hall to borrow a bokken, "Are you sure you want me to attack you?" She asked, attempting to call this little girl's bluff. Really, she couldn't be any older than Setsuna, was shorter by about three inches, and her demeanor and eyes said she had never even been in a real fight. The pink-haired girl looked more mature, but didn't seem like the fighting kind either.

"Yep, just hit me with your stick, if you think you can." Setsuna noticed the barest shift in Kuu Fei's stance, but it didn't appear even slightly like anything you would use in a fight. Resolving to give this little girl a bruise to remember her by, Setsuna brought the back end of the bokken to her right shoulder and drove it forward to strike Kuu Fei's left shoulder. But it never made it. Setsuna barely had time to register that her bokken had been intercepted when she felt a pair of arms slip under her shoulders and a pair of hands lock behind her head.

"Wha?" Setsuna commented intelligently, waving her arms a bit from their held position, but stopping quickly when she realized that swinging them forward any at all made her neck hurt.

"A Full Nelson, most effective at subduing an enemy without killing them or embarrassing someone that underestimates you. Ineffective on those smaller than you that are fairly flexible, but anyone larger will break their own necks before they escape." Makie commented, answering the question and grinning, "This means you."

"Right... martial artist," Setsuna said under her breath a bit, "I yield this match to you, but it won't happen again." She stood up after the dark-skinned girl let her out of the hold, and stretched her shoulders a bit, "How good are you, exactly? I'm not a very good judge of unarmed combat skill."

"I... don't know..." Kuu Fei answered with a silly ponderous expression (one finger on the chin, nothing of eyes but the pupils.)

"Well, you don't look like you're from around here, so what's the toughest monster you've fought?" Setsuna asked.

"Uhhh... what was it called again? It was big and purple and it had horns and a mane..."

"A... behemoth...? You've beaten a behemoth? How?" Setsuna replied, shocked.

"I... ran away!" Cue 'The Wave' effect on the line of mercenaries as each of them hears what she said and facefaults. Setsuna barely restrains herself from copying them.

"Overconfident you're not, that's good." She said wryly, "But what have you beaten?"

"Everything between here, the westernmost point of the continent and the barbarian lands; I can't list everything we've run across, but the only thing that's ever given us real trouble is minor demons. You know, the big but stupid ones?" Makie interjects, "And most of those were elemental and we usually just ran away if we didn't have help."

Setsuna is silent for a minute, "How old are you two?" she finally asks Makie, her tone incredulous.

"We're both fifteen. We haven't stayed in one area for more than a week in the last year, if you're wondering how we got here from Polom at our ages." She answered.

"Polom... big port town on the west coast, right? That's where you two are from?"

"I was born there and I lived there most of my life, but Kuu Fei came by ship from... somewhere. She's not the best at explaining things, if you can't tell. She got in trouble with the local authorities for annoying one of the local to-dos and ended up dragging me along as an accomplice."

"And you aren't mad at her for taking you away from your home town?" Makie looked over at Kuu Fei, who was still attempting to describe monsters she'd beaten to thin air.

"Only while running for my life or sleeping on a rock; otherwise, it's been a pretty fun trip... mostly..." She narrows her eyes and glares at Kuu Fei, then suddenly pulls the whip, which is much longer than it looked on her belt, and snaps that hand out towards her; the heavy grip end strikes her right between the eyes before being yanked back into Makie's hand. Kuu Fei goes googly-eyed for a moment before popping (literally) back up, "in any case, I think you need to get working on testing the others. Kuu Fei and I work as a team, so I think you're done with us."

"Right, yes..." Setsuna said, trying not to sweatdrop, "Well then, I think these two have set the bar." She raises her voice, "They'll be the ones to beat if you want to even be considered for the position. Gather in the training hall and find a training version of whatever weapon you use unless it's naturally non-lethal. I'll ask for someone to step forward once you're all ready, and it'll be a three-strike match."

"Two on one? That's hardly fair." One of the younger ones yelled out.

"Well, if you're scared that you'll be beaten by two little girls, then you have ten minutes to find your weapon and make a deal with somebody else so you can have a second as well. But each person has to get three hits, including them, making it six, or nine if you want to gang up on two little girls that badly."

"I have trouble taking orders from a little girl that thinks she has enough skill to tell who the strongest of us is based on her own," Rang out a voice cold with contempt. Setsuna looked at him and felt like laughing; he radiated contempt and confidence, could be mistaken for a girl if it weren't for the armor, and carried a broadsword.

"Regardless of your strength..." Setsuna started, her voice dangerous as she dropped the bokken and put her hand on Yuunagi, "Opinions like that..." In a flash of movement too quick for the untrained eye to see, Setsuna was suddenly on the other side of the line and the uppity merc was arcing through the air toward the outer wall, "We don't need." She finished as she slid Yuunagi back into its sheath.

"Any more questions?" She asked with fake pleasantness, moving on before anyone had time to speak up, "Good, you have your orders, so go." There were some 'looks' exchanged between mercenaries, she was sure, but she ignored them and entered the practice room, sitting down at the front in a meditation position to wait. Exactly ten minutes later, she opened her eyes and found about half of the mercenaries milling about in front of her, talking amongst themselves. As she'd thought; some had been put off by their chooser, and more than she'd expected at first because they could tell from her little display the standard she set, and knew they couldn't meet it. That was good; this little contest would go by quicker with only candidates that came near the level she was looking for. She quickly spotted Kuu Fei, talking with one of the local unarmed specialists, Makie standing beside and apparently translating.

"All right then, Kuu Fei, Makie, to the front, everyone else, form ranks, sit next to your second if you have one." As soon as the stage was set, she spoke again, "This will be a set of three-strike matches, anyone that uses a lethal weapon will be disposed of immediately, a knockout or a submission hold will count as a win, but don't take it too far. Who wants to be the first challenger?"

"I shall take that honor." Said a middle-aged man with a practice rapier in hand and what appeared to be a custom-designed rapier at his belt, made in a wavy design and with an edge, unlike a typical rapier, "I believe you can call the strikes from seeing the design of my blade." He undid the loop that kept his sword attached and let it fall to the floor so it wouldn't be in his way, then stepped forward in what appeared to be a traditional fencing stance, left hand on his hip and blade held forward with the other.

"Take it away, Makie-chan!" Kuu Fei said, sitting down next to Setsuna as Makie uncoiled her whip and stepped forward.

"Oh, you're going to let her fight alone?" Setsuna asked.

"Yup! She can take care of this one, and you wanna see how well both of us fight, right?" Kuu Fei said, watching eagerly. Setsuna nodded to herself, making a mental note that this martial artist was more intelligent than she seemed at first, and resolved not to be thrown off by the fact that she hadn't mastered the language she was speaking.

"All right. Two rules: nothing lethal and nothing too explosive, unless you want the cost of this training hall coming out of your pay. Ready?"

The man bowed gracefully with a flourish, while Makie returned a traditional eastern bow, "Gomen nasai," She said as she bowed, "in advance, for humiliating you."

"Heh, you sound sincere. Don't worry, I won't put any bruises on that pretty face of yours." He returned.

"Begin!" Setsuna called. The fight was over in moments. Makie made a strong strike towards his left foot in an attempt to pull him off of his balance and end the fight quickly, but he was anticipating and blocked it with the tip of his sword, intending to pull back on her trapped whip and jerk her off balance for the finishing thrust, only to find himself outguessed as the whip's extra length wrapped around both his foot and his blade, making him stick himself in the foot before the sword slipped out of the loop and his foot was caught and jerked up into the air. After that, it was only a matter of the time it took him to fall before Makie had him hog-tied, his sword useless in one hand.

"Win by submission, next!" Setsuna called, watching as several mercs winced and discreetly left the room.

* * *

One hour later, the training hall was empty of everyone except for Setsuna, Kuu Fei and Makie.

"It's either frightening or pitiful that we're stronger than any of the other mercenaries in the area, isn't it?" Makie asked Kuu Fei jokingly.

"Uhhhh..." was the confused response.

"Well, it looks like you two have the job. It's only a day trip, so you'll receive your pay once it's done, be here and ready at dawn." Setsuna said, giving them a nod and turning away to reenter the castle.

"Uhm..." She heard from behind, "You wouldn't happen to have any guest rooms free, would you?" Setsuna turned around to look at Makie curiously, "Well, it's kinda late, and I'm sure the lodging around town is pretty full, what with all the mercs we just outdid needing a place to stay, and..."

"You're broke, aren't you?" Setsuna broke in wryly.

"Ehehehe..." Makie put one hand on the back of her head in an expression of guilt.

"Fine," Setsuna sighed, "The standing guard barracks are that way, tell them I sent you and ask for Jerald; he'll pick out a set of bunks for you. Oh, and remind him to tell the cook to fix two more meals worth tonight. If anybody gives you any trouble, just tell them that you've beaten me in a match. Even if it was a cheap trick and I was underestimating you badly. I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

_And then came the real kicker of the day..._ she glanced at the buggy and kept an expression of pain from crossing her face.

* * *

"Ojou-sama, all the preparations are made. Do you require anything else of me before you retire for the night?"

"No." Konoka answered simply, not even turning her head.

"Then I will leave you to rest." Setsuna bowed and turned to leave. She was out the door, standing in the hallway, and the door was shut when she heard it:

"Oath breaker..." like a whisper on the wind, yet she heard it clearly, and it confused her. What oath had she broken? She was standing by ojou-sama's side and protecting her, and she thought that was all she had sworn to do... so why did she feel so terrible? She sat down next to the door to contemplate this and other things as the crying from within tore her heart to shreds once again. 

**End Chapter 3, Part 1**

**'Girl from Ipanema(sp?)' plays**

* * *

**Part 2: Insights, Assumptions, and Foreplay**

"You're acting cheerful today." Yue said in her usual disinterested tone, "See something good in your future?" Her compatriot turned the usual blank stare in her direction, but Yue could see straight through the deception, as well as the shield around her mind that no one else could even tell was there.

"Don't worry, Nodoka, I won't say anything. I will miss you though. It's been nice having someone else to do drudge-work with." Yue continued as she scrubbed a particularly nasty stain off the golden goblet of their 'benefactor', lamenting once again to herself the stupidity of using gold for dishes while cleaning food out of the teeth marks around the rim.

"When. How much." Nodoka asked in her usual blank tone, though Yue could sense the storm of anxiety within her.

"Since we met and I looked. Only faces and vague meaning. I don't know the meaning of the capital either." She paused, "It is about time for you to get ready, isn't it? I'll get the rest here." Nodoka said no words as she left, but her friend almost smiled as she sensed the gratitude. A few moments later, one of the Master Seers stepped in to inspect the job being done by the apprentice. Just before, Nodoka had said she was about to be summoned by the Most Enlightened, and he had let her go, knowing they would catch it if she was lying, and that the other apprentice could finish the job, but decided to check in anyway. He was rather startled to find her missing, the dishes only half-washed; she couldn't have gotten out without alerting him, and a quick footstep trace of the past lead to the sink and disappeared. To all his looking, it seemed as though she had disappeared into thin air.

* * *

"Look, I don't know who you think you are, but no one comes into my audience chamber without an invitation or even permission and asks for visions of the future. It's for me to know and you to find out."

"But we don't want to know, we just want you to point us in the right direction!" A youthful and somewhat angry female voice came from the ornate doors in front of Nodoka, who waited patiently with a blank stare, the guards at the door eyeing her nervously.

"Very well... One of our apprentices has had a foggy vision of some odd happenings to the east." _Might as well get rid of two annoyances at once..._ said and thought the Most Enlightened, "I'll send her with you so that when her vision clears she can direct you closer to whatever it is." Inside, he motioned to the side and a servant walked up from there, "Go fetch..."

"You summoned me, sir?" Nodoka interrupted as she stepped into the room, dressed in travel gear and with a pack ready. The only response from the Most Enlightened was an astonished blink. His guests, however, turned around with total shock on their faces, as expected of anyone unused to those with Sight casually demonstrating it.

On the right was a girl of middling age with red hair tied into two ponytails with belled ornaments, wearing medium-weight armor above and what seemed to be a long red skirt (Nodoka realized a moment later that it was tanned ice-demon hide), and classical knight's steel footwear. To top it off, she had a Hamanotsurugi strapped to her back with an odd clasping system made so that she could draw the humungous weapon without having an arm span twice as long as she was tall. Her face was angular, but baby-fat soft, which, if none of the other clued you in, indicated that she was from the barbarian tribes to the north. Her left eye was blue, and the right was green, which said that she could be part of the Kagurazaka clan, who were known to have some non-human heritage, and both eyes radiated annoyance at herself for being caught... once the shock had passed, anyway.

On the left stood a young boy in a simple traveler's cloak leaning on a walking staff at least half-again his height which was wrapped in bandages. His hair was reddish-brown, and a bit brighter on top of his head than below, giving it an odd tiered look, with it tied into a small ponytail in the back. His eyes were brown, with tiny spectacles resting just below them on his nose, and had a look of wisdom and maturity that disagreed with his physical age; his look was speculative, obviously curious over this girl that could see the future and the fabric of the cosmos... or so it was said of seers.

"Yes, this apprentice claims to have seen something odd in the vicinity of the Misty Marsh to the east. We don't usually do anything about such hazy visions, but she's been so insistent, would you mind taking her there and setting her fears to rest?" Said the Most Enlightened after quickly composing himself, so as not to appear less than all-knowing in front of guests.

"What are you-" the girl turned around and began speaking, the anger in her voice rising, but she was interrupted by the boy, whose eyes had not moved from Nodoka.

"We'll do it."

"What? Negi, he's...!"

"Don't worry Asuna, I have a good feeling about this." The boy named Negi said, speaking as soothingly as possible, probably to keep the girl from exploding, "And besides, I believe that none of us are all that welcome here." He turned to face the Most Enlightened and with a graceful bow said, "Good day." Before turning and leaving the room, a confused Asuna scurrying after while Nodoka quickly followed.

Once the doors were shut, the Most Enlightened's assistant stepped forward and spoke, "Why did you allow them to treat you with such disrespect? You would have destroyed the minds of anyone else that treated you that way."

"Two things. First, never question my judgment again. Second, the boy is the last of the Central Mages, and the girl is a Perfect of the Kagurazaka clan, and they were bonded."

"Oh. My deepest apologies sir, my only excuse is that I do not match your wisdom. Do they bear watching?"

"No need. That girl will go right along with what I said, and even they can't get to the center of the Marsh without a Blood Mage assisting their passage. They'll be dead within the week."

* * *

"Negi-bozou!" Asuna said angrily as she grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up to face her. Up until a moment ago, he'd been walking through the street, a sage expression on his face, the two girls following behind, one blankly silent, the other grumbling and attempting to puzzle out something, "Explain to me what happened back there. Now."

"Explain what?" He asked, sounding sincerely curious, then, a moment later, he snapped his fingers, "Ah! Asuna-chan doesn't understand what happened! I always seem to forget that you don't get things as quickly as I do." Negi suddenly noticed the heat on his face and, realizing what it meant, began to quickly speak, "Well, he obviously didn't like us, and was lying quite a bit, if I was reading his body language right. He probably meant for our companion to lead us into the Marsh so that we'd all three die there, since I get the impression that he doesn't like her very much either... or rather, he's contemptuous in the extreme. But his surprise was authentic, so I guessed that she knew something that even he didn't, so I thought we'd all just get away from here and figure out what to do elsewhere. Did I do something wrong, Asuna-chan?"

"Nothing _this_ time, but next time don't keep walking and try to look cool for so long. Got it, Negi-_bozou_?" She replied, dropping him hard on the ground.

"Hai, Asuna-chan, I will stop to explain the situation." He stood up, rubbing his pride a bit, "And while we're stopped, could you tell us your name, friend?" Nodoka had been watching with some confusion, not entirely sure what was going on, but when she heard the word 'friend,' she felt something in her chest rise, a little ball of warmth that was somehow familiar, but disturbing as well.

"Uh, um, Nodoka." She stuttered out.

"Well, Nodoka-chan, what shall we do?" Cue the calm, happy smile that makes the hearts of otherworld 3-A go all aflutter, and then... enter Asuna. Negi pries his face out of the ground with a pained expression.

"Quit trying to be cool. And don't be so familiar with someone we hardly know." Asuna suddenly felt like she was being watched, and turned to Nodoka, "No offense intended, but it's only been a few minutes since we've met. Oh, we haven't even properly introduced ourselves yet. I'm Asuna. The brat is Negi."

"Asuna-chaaaan, why did you have to hit me so hard?" Negi complained, picking dirt out of his teeth.

"It's for your own good." She said, mussing his hair. Nodoka watched curiously, wondering if these two had more of a relationship than was obvious at first. After a moment, Negi finally managed to compose himself.

"So, anyways, Nodoka, do you really know of some evil that we might exterminate?"

"Yes. The place is as said."

"It's not...?" Negi started.

"No. It is not the Demon, but something else. It is otherworldly, more evil and less human. I cannot See much, but it seems to be both more and less powerful than the one you seek to train yourself to fight."

"How did you...?"

"Just observation. I do not pry into the past of those that might resent it, though it is impossible to turn a blind eye to what you are."

"Ah, so you know that...?" Negi scratched the side of his face with one finger.

"Quit dithering Negi. If we're headed into the Marsh, we need to be prepared." Asuna interrupted, grabbing Negi by the collar and dragging him away. Nodoka follows, seeming a bit unsure.

* * *

A few hours later, with the sun nearing the horizon, three people walked into one of the seedier inns of the city, and even in this no-questions-asked establishment, immediately received all attention. The first through the door was a young girl with a giant blade and a pack that must have weighed upwards of a hundred pounds strapped to her back. This wouldn't have been all that out of place if not for the fact that she wasn't even straining to stand upright. The second through was a young boy in a travelers cloak, with a staff that was much too large for him. The third through was a girl that looked about as old as the other, and her appearance caused everyone else to immediately find something more interesting to look at. 'This pattern of cracks on the ceiling is interesting' or 'I wonder how much ale froth I would have to drink to make myself sick.' Asuna and Negi blink at the transition. After a moment, they shrug it off and step to the bar.

"Excuse me sir," Negi said, attempting to get the pudgy innkeeper's attention, "How much would a room with one bed be for the night?" It took approximately three seconds for the innkeeper to turn, look, get an incredulous expression, and for Asuna to register the words and hit Negi over the head with a stick labeled 'reserved for Negi-thwacking'.

"Baka! We have money today, remember?" She said as Negi pried his face out of the floor.

"Oh yes, I remember, that dra-mmmgph!" He tried to say, but it was hard to speak through the second mouthful of dirt, "Perhaps you should make the arrangements tonight Asuna-chan."

"Yes, before your foot hits your stomach, that might be a good idea." She said, stepping up, "How much is it for one room with two beds and one with one?"

"Ahhhh..." The innkeeper stumbled, wondering why all the weird people came to his inn, "Eight silver, but... wait, five. The Enlightened One stays for free, as always." He said a bit nervously.

"Hmmm..." Asuna said, appearing to be thinking. She lifted one arm and took a sniff, then grabbed Negi by the collar and lifted him up to her level and sniffed again, then made a face, "If that's the case, how much extra for a tub? We can get the water ourselves."

"Ahhh, just one."

"Good, Negi, pay him." Asuna stepped aside, allowing Negi to place one large gold coin on the bar, marked with the crossed sword and bow of the barbarian tribes, "And don't stiff us on the change, if you know what's good for you." The innkeeper nodded and his eyes tracked to the side momentarily before he snatched up the coin and dropped a gold coin of the local type where the other had rested a moment ago, along with two large keys.

"Second floor, southeast corner, marked one and two." The innkeeper explained, the nervous edge to his voice greater than before.

"Ahhhh..." Asuna said, stretching her arms as she stepped toward the stairs, "That hot water is going to feel sooo good... I feel like I haven't bathed in weeks."

"Nine days, to be exact." Negi said, snatching up the keys and the gold and following her, Nodoka trailing behind silently.

* * *

Nodoka lied on the hard straw mattress, eyes closed, countenance relaxed, wondering just what kind of people she had gotten herself mixed up with. Certainly, it was inevitable, it was fate, but why would fate have her end up with two such people? And for how long? In what capacity? The answers escaped her, and she sighed silently. A week ago, she had received a vision; an image and a feeling. Her first sight of them, standing in the audience hall, and the feeling, almost an emotion, that she would be With them. When she tried to translate the feeling into words, the capital W had confused her, but she knew it was significant... but what did it all mean?

Her thoughts were interrupted by loud thumping noises from the room next door, noises that had been repeating themselves for the better part of an hour, and she blushed within her mind as the more instinctive animal part of her brain attempted to supply images of what might be going on with the young boy and his female companion. Just what kind of relationship did those two _have_?

* * *

"Negi-bozou! Get your butt back here this minute!" Asuna yelled, rebounding off the wall as the little brat dodged her once again.

"But, Asuna-chaaaan!"

"No excuses!" She said, diving for him once again and missing, "You stink, and you're going to get a bath, end of story!" 

**End Chapter 3, Part 2**

**Strauss' 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' AKA Sunrise, AKA the Space Odessy music plays while a giant Kamo-kun face rises on the moon **

AN, part 1: And so you see the results of Setsuna's resolution. It's worse than the original, isn't it though? She's there, but she's not. Brrrr... Note that right at the end there is where a guy would shake his head, roll his eyes, and mutter 'women...' not that Setsuna has any more of a clue in this case... Anyway, on a lighter note, the comic relief, Kuu Fei and Makie-chan; I chose them because I needed some extra fighters on this side. I originally thought about using Kuu Fei and Yue (the wandering witch) but because of a certain development I created in the world, that idea had to be scrapped and I filled in with Makie-chan... of course, now it seems that that'll develop into a whole side-story later on... but not at the moment. And the title and the finisher for part 1? Two Ducks is Kuu and Makie, which should be obvious... and I hear the collective sigh of relief from anyone who was worried about time travel being involved... and the lemon is something that 'leaves a sour taste in your mouth' like the serious part of that part does with me. And girl from Ipanema is elevator music, which seemed appropriate for most of that part. 

In case anyone wants to know, I dug into my Bag O' Random Fighters and pulled out Raphael of Soul Calibur II for the fighter. On the same note, my mental bestiary also draws from various places, the Final Fantasy series among them, hence the Behemoth; since I tend to think of there first, most RMRs (Random Monster References) will come from there, but the prominent enemies will be of my own creation or from the original, and any important monster (I.E. The Jachyra I intend to use in the other half of the story) will have a definite form and purpose. 

AN, part 2: Asuna's 'middling age' is described so because of the medieval maturity standard, IE. You're an adult as soon as you're past puberty and act like it. Misty Marsh... I ain't even gonna try to count the number of stories with one of those, but it's a pretty standard fixture in fantasy realms, and quite convenient for a later plot-point, as well as a major fixture in the story itself. 

Nodoka will start speaking up next chapter, and the reason why she's been so quiet will be revealed as well... well, sort of, anyway. Money details... it'll be explained later, when it actually matters. As you'll notice, Negi does have the occasional tendency to insert his foot into his mouth and slide it all the way up to the kneecap; I may have exaggerated this a bit, but I'm not sure. The part title... Insights, Assumptions, those two should be fairly obvious as to the meaning. Foreplay... well, that little bit about the bath at the end inspired that, and it does make it match the title of part one a bit... the closer... if you haven't heard that music, you've probably been living under a rock, because it is one of the most re-used tunes of all time. The rest... is just silly. 

Two times the story, two times the author's notes, yaaaaaaa-mGHPH! a flash of giant hammer, then a blue screen 


End file.
